In diagnosing and treating certain medical conditions, such as potentially cancerous tumors, it is usually desirable to perform a biopsy, in which a specimen of the suspicious tissue is removed for pathological examination and analysis. In many instances, the suspicious tissue is located in a subcutaneous site, such as inside a human breast. To minimize surgical intrusion into the patient's body, it is desirable to be able to insert a small instrument into the patient's body to access the targeted site and to extract the biopsy specimen therefrom.
Electrosurgical techniques have been used in a variety of biopsy procedures. In electrosurgery, high frequency electrical energy is typically applied to patient tissue through an active electrode, the electrical circuit being completed by a return electrode in contact with the patient's tissue. Electrical energy flowing through the tissue from the active electrode is effective to ablate tissue near the active electrode, forming an opening in the tissue and so allowing insertion of the instrument into a patient's body. A return electrode may be placed on the exterior of the patient's body or may be incorporated into the device itself. The return electrode is typically attached to the patient at a point remote from where the primary or active electrode contacts the tissue.
Conventionally, when an electrosurgical biopsy instrument inserts into a patient's body, it's cutting end cannot be readily seen from outside. This makes it difficult for a surgeon to find out where the electrosurgical biopsy instrument is, in a biopsy operation. Thus, it is desirable to have a display device visually showing the location of the electrosurgical biopsy instrument with respect to the patient's body in biopsy operation.